Crail Golf and Anstruther, Kingdom of Fife
Way behind on me blog, merely because we have been so busy enjoying this country,by the time the day comes to an end, I either sleep, or blog -- so I choose sleep. Tomorrow will be me blog catch up day. So in the meantime, watch the video of Jonny's 40-foot birdie putt on the 4th hole at Balcomie Links in Crail. (Tiger woods...watch out!)...
Showing posts with label 2008 Scotland Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2008 Scotland Vacation. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Scotland 8th Day — July 6, 2008
St. Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife
Left the flat at 8:00am to be in St. Andrews by 10:00am. We HAD to be there for the once-a-week, in-depth tour of the "Old Course." This tour is only run in the summer and on Sundays, when the course is closed to players, but open to the public.
We made it there a little past 9:00am with the help of "Miss Navi" — our name for the TomTom navigational device that Alistaire lent to us yesterday. It came in VERY handy, since it rained all the way there—and it she speaks in "British" english!
Yes, another crappy day. When we arrived at St. Andrews, the wind was blowing HARD, visibility was bad, about 55 degrees with horizontal rain — and it pretty much stayed that way the whole day. It was grueling, but worth it. Our guide, "Jimmy" (it seems like every other lad in Scotland is named, Jimmy) gave us a 3 1/2 hour tour of just about every hole of St. Andrews "Old Course." If you don't know it already, the Old Course is the oldest golf course in the world, dating back to 1506. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have both won the British Open here twice. Green fees are £130 to play the course (that's $260), so it would be a hefty expense if the weather wasn't cooperative. We'll see if the wee devil decides to part with that much money for a 4-hour bragging right (I'd rather he not, and say he did).
Our Guide "Jimmy"
Jonny in the "Road Hole Bunker"
In front of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews
On the famous "Swilken Bridge"
Standing in front of the 17th Road Hole Tee Shot
Jonny in front of "Hell" bunker (yikes!)
The beach in front of St. Andrews where they filmed "Chariots of Fire" (Jonny will attempt to recreate the run on a later day, when the sun is out)
After the tour, and a much-needed lunch, we walk down the street towards the ruins of St. Andrews cathedral. It's all very ghostly and misty amongst the gravestones. It is 157 steps up St. Rule's tower, so we give it a go. Supposedly, it is the best view in St. Andrews....
St. Rules tower
Unfortunately, the view is covered in fog, so all we can see is the two church spires. We now know that we MUST come back on another day to see what this really should look like.
Our limited view atop St. Rule's tower
Down the street from the cathedral, we walk to the ruins of St. Andrews Castle. Not much of this 12th century castle is left, except a few walls...but what is left is marvelous. Apparently, the site of many sieges, mines were dug underneath the castle to defend it. I brave the underground visit to these mines, which at times you almost have to crawl through. Creepy, but fascinating.
In front on St. Andrew's Castle
The Lassie in front of St. Andrew's Castle
The mine underneath St. Andrew's Castle
Weary, we head back on the hour-and-a-half drive home, as we must return again tomorrow at 7:30am to be in Crail (which is south of St. Andrews), for a 9:20am tee-time. Whew!
Left the flat at 8:00am to be in St. Andrews by 10:00am. We HAD to be there for the once-a-week, in-depth tour of the "Old Course." This tour is only run in the summer and on Sundays, when the course is closed to players, but open to the public.
We made it there a little past 9:00am with the help of "Miss Navi" — our name for the TomTom navigational device that Alistaire lent to us yesterday. It came in VERY handy, since it rained all the way there—and it she speaks in "British" english!
Yes, another crappy day. When we arrived at St. Andrews, the wind was blowing HARD, visibility was bad, about 55 degrees with horizontal rain — and it pretty much stayed that way the whole day. It was grueling, but worth it. Our guide, "Jimmy" (it seems like every other lad in Scotland is named, Jimmy) gave us a 3 1/2 hour tour of just about every hole of St. Andrews "Old Course." If you don't know it already, the Old Course is the oldest golf course in the world, dating back to 1506. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have both won the British Open here twice. Green fees are £130 to play the course (that's $260), so it would be a hefty expense if the weather wasn't cooperative. We'll see if the wee devil decides to part with that much money for a 4-hour bragging right (I'd rather he not, and say he did).
Our Guide "Jimmy"
Jonny in the "Road Hole Bunker"
In front of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews
On the famous "Swilken Bridge"
Standing in front of the 17th Road Hole Tee Shot
Jonny in front of "Hell" bunker (yikes!)
The beach in front of St. Andrews where they filmed "Chariots of Fire" (Jonny will attempt to recreate the run on a later day, when the sun is out)
After the tour, and a much-needed lunch, we walk down the street towards the ruins of St. Andrews cathedral. It's all very ghostly and misty amongst the gravestones. It is 157 steps up St. Rule's tower, so we give it a go. Supposedly, it is the best view in St. Andrews....
St. Rules tower
Unfortunately, the view is covered in fog, so all we can see is the two church spires. We now know that we MUST come back on another day to see what this really should look like.
Our limited view atop St. Rule's tower
Down the street from the cathedral, we walk to the ruins of St. Andrews Castle. Not much of this 12th century castle is left, except a few walls...but what is left is marvelous. Apparently, the site of many sieges, mines were dug underneath the castle to defend it. I brave the underground visit to these mines, which at times you almost have to crawl through. Creepy, but fascinating.
In front on St. Andrew's Castle
The Lassie in front of St. Andrew's Castle
The mine underneath St. Andrew's Castle
Weary, we head back on the hour-and-a-half drive home, as we must return again tomorrow at 7:30am to be in Crail (which is south of St. Andrews), for a 9:20am tee-time. Whew!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Scotland 7th Day — July 5, 2008
Argyll's Lodging and (Monty Python's) Doune Castle
Aye, it's another cold, gray day here in Stirling. Just for the heck of it, I decide to check out the temps in Indian Wells this week. If you multiply our outside temperature of 55˚ by two — then you get it... a scorching 110˚. If you don't believe me, check it out fer yerselves:
Scotland Temps and Indian Wells Temps (ouch!)
Alright, enough of that nonsense and on with the day. We begin with a morning tour of Argyll's Lodging — Scotland's finest surviving renaissance mansion. A 17th Century town residence built circa 1630 by Sir William Alexander, founder of Nova Scotia. He became Secretary of State for Scotland and was appointed the first Earl of Stirling. A nice tour, but the most fascinating thing I discovered there was a resident living within it's walls....one of the largest spiders this lassie has ever seen....eeek!
Argyll's Lodging (on a sunny day)
The inside of Argyll's Lodging
Mr. Big Spidey in Argyll's Lodging
After that, we strolled up towards the castle and stopped in the Church of the Holy Rude (Rude meaning "cross"). A 15th century church with magnificent stained glass windows and one of Scotland's rare, surviving, medieval open timber roofs. I will try to go to the service next Sunday -- apparently, it has the largest pipe organ in Scotland.
Inside the Church of the Holy Rude
Stained Glass in the Church of the Holy Rude
As we make our way back to the house for lunch, we pass a 1929 "Boys Club", so I must take a photo in front of it. Jon calls me a "tart", and I smile.
Where the boys are
The Tart near the Old Town Jail in Sterling
After lunch, we're off to the town of "Doune", which is 8 miles northwest of Stirling. It's still cold and rainy, but it makes for a perfect setting for my visit to the famous Doune Castle, where many scenes of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" were filmed. Remember the "French Taunting" scene? Here's my very corny version of it:
I also took a wee bit of a stroll up the castle turret to see the view of the small village of Doune. The stairs were steep and it was a bit creepy inside, as I seemed to be the only visitor there and me wee devil, Jonny had not interest in my Monty Python obsession -- so he waited in the car (where it was drier). Here's me video (the end is messed up and scrambled, but I think it adds to the overall horror of it):
Wasn't that fun? On the way back home we stopped at the Deanston Distillery to take a pic. It was closed, but the whole block smelled of Scotch Whiskey.
JR in front of Deanston Distillery
We got hungry, so we stopped for some goodies at the local "Tesco" market. As we passed the long line at the cigarette counter, I just couldn't help but notice the EXTRA LARGE warning signs on the packs -- the ones that the customers waiting in line seemed to miss:
Wow ... £4.64 ($10) for a pack of killer cigs!
A LONG day, so time to go home and sleep.
Aye, it's another cold, gray day here in Stirling. Just for the heck of it, I decide to check out the temps in Indian Wells this week. If you multiply our outside temperature of 55˚ by two — then you get it... a scorching 110˚. If you don't believe me, check it out fer yerselves:
Scotland Temps and Indian Wells Temps (ouch!)
Alright, enough of that nonsense and on with the day. We begin with a morning tour of Argyll's Lodging — Scotland's finest surviving renaissance mansion. A 17th Century town residence built circa 1630 by Sir William Alexander, founder of Nova Scotia. He became Secretary of State for Scotland and was appointed the first Earl of Stirling. A nice tour, but the most fascinating thing I discovered there was a resident living within it's walls....one of the largest spiders this lassie has ever seen....eeek!
Argyll's Lodging (on a sunny day)
The inside of Argyll's Lodging
Mr. Big Spidey in Argyll's Lodging
After that, we strolled up towards the castle and stopped in the Church of the Holy Rude (Rude meaning "cross"). A 15th century church with magnificent stained glass windows and one of Scotland's rare, surviving, medieval open timber roofs. I will try to go to the service next Sunday -- apparently, it has the largest pipe organ in Scotland.
Inside the Church of the Holy Rude
Stained Glass in the Church of the Holy Rude
As we make our way back to the house for lunch, we pass a 1929 "Boys Club", so I must take a photo in front of it. Jon calls me a "tart", and I smile.
Where the boys are
The Tart near the Old Town Jail in Sterling
After lunch, we're off to the town of "Doune", which is 8 miles northwest of Stirling. It's still cold and rainy, but it makes for a perfect setting for my visit to the famous Doune Castle, where many scenes of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" were filmed. Remember the "French Taunting" scene? Here's my very corny version of it:
I also took a wee bit of a stroll up the castle turret to see the view of the small village of Doune. The stairs were steep and it was a bit creepy inside, as I seemed to be the only visitor there and me wee devil, Jonny had not interest in my Monty Python obsession -- so he waited in the car (where it was drier). Here's me video (the end is messed up and scrambled, but I think it adds to the overall horror of it):
Wasn't that fun? On the way back home we stopped at the Deanston Distillery to take a pic. It was closed, but the whole block smelled of Scotch Whiskey.
JR in front of Deanston Distillery
We got hungry, so we stopped for some goodies at the local "Tesco" market. As we passed the long line at the cigarette counter, I just couldn't help but notice the EXTRA LARGE warning signs on the packs -- the ones that the customers waiting in line seemed to miss:
Wow ... £4.64 ($10) for a pack of killer cigs!
A LONG day, so time to go home and sleep.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Scotland 3rd Day — Tuesday, July 1
Jon awakes me at 11:30 am!! Apparently, the Sominex worked too well!! If feel that I have slept the day away, but I forget that the sun sets at 11 pm, so not all is lost. I cook a full "Scottish breakfast" -- eggs, bacon, pancakes, OJ, putter about and finally leave the house at 3pm (the "magic" hour)! Again, too late to get a full tour of the castle, and it's gray and drizzling out side, so we hop into the car and take a ride to the Wallace Monument. Since the weather is not-so-hot, we hike up the path and take in the view from the base of it. We will return for the tour and a better day, but it was a nice visit nontheless. They have removed the statue of William Wallace that looked like Mel Gibson. I don't blame them. The monument on it's own is quite spectacular, and they light it up at night. (I will post a photo of the monument later)
We then hop into the car and visit the town of Bridge of Allan and the local golf course. Very quaint, but keep in mind...it's still raining. We decide to head on back to the flat, and once there we walk a couple of blocks towards the castle in search of the famous "beheading stone", thought to have been used for capital punishments in the 15th century. We end up meandering in the local graveyard, and can't find the stone, but find several old gravestones with the preface of "here lieth." My favorite being —
" Here lies the body
Of Margaret Bent
She kicked up her heels
And away she went"
Off to the flat for a cup of hot tea and dinner.... another ham and cheese panini in the George Forman grill that I found...yummy. Tea and biscuits. At 10pm we decide to head on down to the local pub "The Settle Inn" for a pint or two. We meet George, the friendly Scottish bartender with bad teeth and a wry sense of humor. Jon goes about trying a few whiskeys, and decides he likes the local one "Deanston." I drink two half-pints of Stella Artois and meet up with a nice local lady named Christine, who tells me I MUST visit the Trossachs area. She tells me it's VERY romantic, with it's lochs and scenery, so I have now put that at the top of my list ----along with going on a haunted castle tour...of course. I pull out my camera to take a picture of George, and it is then that I notice that the memory card is corrupt. Which means ALL photos from the first 3 days of this trip are destroyed. Oddly enough, this seemed to happen AFTER Jon and I took a stroll through the local graveyard! I felt I was being respectful, but maybe not enough. I am sad, but a shot of whiskey should make me feel better.
We then hop into the car and visit the town of Bridge of Allan and the local golf course. Very quaint, but keep in mind...it's still raining. We decide to head on back to the flat, and once there we walk a couple of blocks towards the castle in search of the famous "beheading stone", thought to have been used for capital punishments in the 15th century. We end up meandering in the local graveyard, and can't find the stone, but find several old gravestones with the preface of "here lieth." My favorite being —
" Here lies the body
Of Margaret Bent
She kicked up her heels
And away she went"
Off to the flat for a cup of hot tea and dinner.... another ham and cheese panini in the George Forman grill that I found...yummy. Tea and biscuits. At 10pm we decide to head on down to the local pub "The Settle Inn" for a pint or two. We meet George, the friendly Scottish bartender with bad teeth and a wry sense of humor. Jon goes about trying a few whiskeys, and decides he likes the local one "Deanston." I drink two half-pints of Stella Artois and meet up with a nice local lady named Christine, who tells me I MUST visit the Trossachs area. She tells me it's VERY romantic, with it's lochs and scenery, so I have now put that at the top of my list ----along with going on a haunted castle tour...of course. I pull out my camera to take a picture of George, and it is then that I notice that the memory card is corrupt. Which means ALL photos from the first 3 days of this trip are destroyed. Oddly enough, this seemed to happen AFTER Jon and I took a stroll through the local graveyard! I felt I was being respectful, but maybe not enough. I am sad, but a shot of whiskey should make me feel better.
Scotland 2nd Day — Monday, June 30
Jon's first day of driving on the wrong-side of the car, on the wrong-side of the street, shifting with his left hand and navigating what seems like a "roundabout" at every corner! Quite a harrowing adventure, but we make in one piece to the car park in the center of town (whew!).
We decide to take a wee stroll on Port street and pop in for a bite to eat and a cup of coffee at Cisco's cafe. We start chattin' up the propieter, Bennie Tortolano. Quite a lovely fellow. Ends up he is half Italian, and his daughter lived in San Diego for quite awhile. He loved to go visit her and he misses his travels to California. He loves the old jazz standards and swing dancin', and did his best impression of Frank Sinatra. He brought up a subject having to to do with "only the good die young", and Jonny chimed in with "I guess I'll live a long time, then." Bennie's answer was "Oh, you're a wee devil, are ye?" So that is now what I call Jonny...."me wee devil." It's SO appropriate.
Subsitute photo of cute, Bennie Tortolano at Cisco's cafe
We proceeded to take a walk about the town, and passed many landmarks, including the old town jail, and the outside of the fabulous Stirling Castle. We will visit it later on, when we have more time to commit to it. We discover that our flat is in one of the most charming areas of Scotland - historically and visually. We are delighted. I am also feeling much better, and the Scottish whiskey helps heal me throat. We take off grocery shoppin' at about 8pm in search of "Tesco" market, but end up at Sainsbury's, which suits us fine. We buy £75 worth of grub (which translates to $160 dollars)....hopefully we will make good use of it. I find that some items are very expensive-- meats and certain veggies, but other items are very cheap -- you could buy a bottle of shampoo for 50 cents and a loaf of bread for a dollar! And the baked goods -- bread, biscuits, etc. are delicious! So much for the Atkins diet in Scotland! Of course, I buy some well-aged Scottish cheese and some local ham -- we are now set for Paninis for lunch every day!
We come home late and are greeted by our downstairs neighbor, Alistaire who kindly helps us bring up Jon's golf clubs that were misplaced by British Airways yesterday! What a nice chap. His wife is Sarah, and he has two young boys. We invited him up for a spot of tea, and we all talked until midnight. Quite a full, social day. And, since I have had trouble sleeping the past few nights, I decide to take a Sominex pill. Let's see how it works.
We decide to take a wee stroll on Port street and pop in for a bite to eat and a cup of coffee at Cisco's cafe. We start chattin' up the propieter, Bennie Tortolano. Quite a lovely fellow. Ends up he is half Italian, and his daughter lived in San Diego for quite awhile. He loved to go visit her and he misses his travels to California. He loves the old jazz standards and swing dancin', and did his best impression of Frank Sinatra. He brought up a subject having to to do with "only the good die young", and Jonny chimed in with "I guess I'll live a long time, then." Bennie's answer was "Oh, you're a wee devil, are ye?" So that is now what I call Jonny...."me wee devil." It's SO appropriate.
Subsitute photo of cute, Bennie Tortolano at Cisco's cafe
We proceeded to take a walk about the town, and passed many landmarks, including the old town jail, and the outside of the fabulous Stirling Castle. We will visit it later on, when we have more time to commit to it. We discover that our flat is in one of the most charming areas of Scotland - historically and visually. We are delighted. I am also feeling much better, and the Scottish whiskey helps heal me throat. We take off grocery shoppin' at about 8pm in search of "Tesco" market, but end up at Sainsbury's, which suits us fine. We buy £75 worth of grub (which translates to $160 dollars)....hopefully we will make good use of it. I find that some items are very expensive-- meats and certain veggies, but other items are very cheap -- you could buy a bottle of shampoo for 50 cents and a loaf of bread for a dollar! And the baked goods -- bread, biscuits, etc. are delicious! So much for the Atkins diet in Scotland! Of course, I buy some well-aged Scottish cheese and some local ham -- we are now set for Paninis for lunch every day!
We come home late and are greeted by our downstairs neighbor, Alistaire who kindly helps us bring up Jon's golf clubs that were misplaced by British Airways yesterday! What a nice chap. His wife is Sarah, and he has two young boys. We invited him up for a spot of tea, and we all talked until midnight. Quite a full, social day. And, since I have had trouble sleeping the past few nights, I decide to take a Sominex pill. Let's see how it works.
Scotland 1st Day — Sunday, June 29
If some of you don't know already, Jon and I agreed to "house-swap" our home in the desert for a flat in Stirling, Scotland. It didn't take very long to decide to do this, since July in the desert is uninhabitable by most people's standards, and Scotland in the summer is grand and the sun sets at 11pm. Also, it has two of Jon's favorite things in life...golf and whiskey!
Beautiful Stirling Castle
I must first preface this entry by saying that I began journaling 3 days into the trip, and back-tracked. On the 3rd day, my camera card malfunctioned (yes David & Jake...that would be considered an Auntie Carolyn "technical difficulty"), and lost all photos of the first couple of days, so I will need to improvise.
Still fighting what I believed to be a flu, I tried to enjoy our "Upper Class" Virgin Atlantic seats from Boston to Heathrow. This proved to be a bit challenging, since my throat was on fire and I had the chills, so it was difficult to eat and sleep. I will hope to be healthier and in better spirits on the journey back. Once in Heathrow and through customs, we wound our way to the new, hip "Terminal 5" to catch our British Airways trip to Glasgow. We ended up on the last row of the plane, but it was a quick trip and we found our fellow house-swappers, Janette and Steve -- patiently waiting for us at baggage claim. Janette and Steve are a lively couple in their 30s and 40s (respectively), who work at a local school and have a long holiday off in the summer.
They proceeded to help us with our bags and drive us via the "scenic road" to their flat in Sterling -- which, by the way, happens to be next to this amazing 15th century castle! Janette's mum, Frances is there to greet us with a warm cup o' tea. Janette shows us around the flat -- which is quaint and tastefully decorated, and then they are off to the states. Jon & I take a long nap and when I discover that I have strep-throat -- decide to settle-in for the night.
Our fellow swappers Janette and Steve (Again, since I lost all me photos from the first two days, I took this pic from a photo in the living room. I think we did well in choosing them --- dont'ya think?)
Beautiful Stirling Castle
I must first preface this entry by saying that I began journaling 3 days into the trip, and back-tracked. On the 3rd day, my camera card malfunctioned (yes David & Jake...that would be considered an Auntie Carolyn "technical difficulty"), and lost all photos of the first couple of days, so I will need to improvise.
Still fighting what I believed to be a flu, I tried to enjoy our "Upper Class" Virgin Atlantic seats from Boston to Heathrow. This proved to be a bit challenging, since my throat was on fire and I had the chills, so it was difficult to eat and sleep. I will hope to be healthier and in better spirits on the journey back. Once in Heathrow and through customs, we wound our way to the new, hip "Terminal 5" to catch our British Airways trip to Glasgow. We ended up on the last row of the plane, but it was a quick trip and we found our fellow house-swappers, Janette and Steve -- patiently waiting for us at baggage claim. Janette and Steve are a lively couple in their 30s and 40s (respectively), who work at a local school and have a long holiday off in the summer.
They proceeded to help us with our bags and drive us via the "scenic road" to their flat in Sterling -- which, by the way, happens to be next to this amazing 15th century castle! Janette's mum, Frances is there to greet us with a warm cup o' tea. Janette shows us around the flat -- which is quaint and tastefully decorated, and then they are off to the states. Jon & I take a long nap and when I discover that I have strep-throat -- decide to settle-in for the night.
Our fellow swappers Janette and Steve (Again, since I lost all me photos from the first two days, I took this pic from a photo in the living room. I think we did well in choosing them --- dont'ya think?)
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